Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a storage rack for industrial use and more particularly to attachments for the storage rack for the purpose of protecting the storage rack from damage from vehicles such as fork trucks and the like.
In industry, it has been found that with the widespread usage of fork trucks and other vehicles in industrial plants that there has been considerable damage experienced as a consequence of inexperienced or careless drivers of the vehicles. Where the vehicles come into contact with the storage rack, the posts can be bent out of shape and in some situations, depending upon the force of impact against the storage rack, the inventory stored on the racks can be caused to be spilled from the shelving carrying the same. The storage racks are expensive to replace and/or repair.
An important object of this invention is to provide post protectors having surfaces which, when contacted by a fork lift truck, will resist or deflect the impact, thus saving the post from damage.
According to one feature of this invention, the post protector is slightly larger in width than the post and arcuate in shape so that it will deflect a vehicle before the vehicle strikes the post. By providing a protector with a curved surface the blows directed against the post protector glance off.
According to other features of this invention, the new post protector can be mounted on a storage rack with one post protector being stacked vertically on top of another one and secured by attachment studs and keyhole slots on the storage rack posts.
According to other features of this invention, the post protector is particularly configurated so as to set forward of the storage rack post a sufficient distance so that should the post protector be subject to an impact force, it will resist damage to the post, since an adequate space is provided between the curved surface and the post itself.
According to other objects of this invention, a second new and improved corner post protector has been provided for co-action with the previously described corner protector so that angled margins of a post can both be protected from a fork lift truck and the like.
Other features of my invention concern a storage rack having a post with spaced keyhole slots on one margin and a second margin disposed at right angles to the first margin with the second margin having spaced holes. One post protector includes an arcuate intermediate section and opposed attachment sections at its opposite ends which attachment sections are disposed behind the intermediate section and means which are provided for joining attachment studs to the attachment sections and with the studs extended rearwardly in a direction away from said intermediate arcuate section and being engageable in said keyhole slots securing the post protector in assembly with the storage rack. The other post protector has an attachment leg and fasteners securing the attachment leg with the holes in the second margin of the post and with the corner post protector having an arcuate section having a radius extending at right angles to a radius of the arcuate section of the post protector and with the arcuate section of the corner post protector having its outermost edge disposed for sliding edgewise engagement with respect to an outer curved surface of the arcuate section of the post protector.